Shift change blamed for man boarding flight with gun in backpack at O'Hare Airport

CBS News

10-05-2025

Chicago police released more details about the moments a gun made it through security at O'Hare Airport last month.
Besnik Ismajlaj, 53, of St. Charles, was charged with a misdemeanor count of carrying a concealed firearm at the airport.
Police body camera footage showed officers confronting and then taking him with a gun in his backpack off the plane. After walking him off to the jet bridge, they go through his bag, and he's placed under arrest.
The Transportation Security Administration last month said officers detected an image of a firearm inside a bag going through Security Checkpoint 2 at Terminal 1 during the afternoon of April 15. Before Chicago Police could confiscate the gun, Ismajlaj reached inside the X-ray machine at the checkpoint, took the bag, and left for the gate, the TSA said.
Police said they recovered a loaded 9mm Glock semiautomatic pistol from the backpack.
CBS News Chicago learned TSA agents acknowledged seeing the gun on the X-ray machine, but did not alert police until after the passenger had already been cleared through security and boarded his flight.
The arrest report released in the case appeared to blame the failure to apprehend him on the incident that happened during a shift change.
CBS News Chicago contacted the TSA for clarity on why a shift change would've prevented someone with a gun from being taken into custody, but has yet to hear back.